Keepers Coastal Kitchen, the seafood restaurant at 5701 W. Slaughter Lane in South Austin since 2021, will close on October 24, with plans already underway to renovate the space into a coastal Mexican concept called Mi Vecino. The transition marks the latest pivot for Roya Hospitality Group, the restaurant company run by brothers Amir and Ali Hajimaleki, who have built a small but visible footprint of concepts across Austin.
From Gulf Seafood to Coastal Mexican
According to CultureMap Austin, which first reported the closure, Keepers opened in 2021 at 5701 W. Slaughter Lane and built its identity around a seafood menu spanning multiple cuisines, including sushi rolls, oysters, tuna tostadas, and mussels catalan. The restaurant was named after Amir Hajimaleki's favorite pier in Port Aransas and offered sustainably caught seafood and Viet-Cajun boiled seafood, according to Community Impact.
The Hajimaleki brothers are starting over with a new name and a new cuisine entirely.
What Mi Vecino Will Serve
Mi Vecino, which means my neighbor, is being billed as a neighborhood gathering place centered on coastal Mexican cooking, per CultureMap Austin's reporting. The restaurant will lean on live-fire cooking, fresh tortillas, and housemade salsas, with a menu built around ceviches, fajitas, and tacos. Also on the menu: chocolate clams, a large species named for its shell color and associated with Baja California, alongside shrimp enchiladas finished with white mole.
The bar program is expected to include margaritas, ranch waters, palomas, and daiquiris, with a happy hour offering discounted drinks and small bites like tacos, according to the outlet. Amir Hajimaleki, who leads Roya Hospitality Group alongside his brother Ali, said the new concept will create something fresh while staying true to the group's original vision, per a press release cited by CultureMap Austin. Hajimaleki will oversee Mi Vecino's culinary program, with chef Jose Alajandro Sanchez executing it, per the same release. The restaurant is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027.
Patrons who frequent the same strip won't lose everything at once. Daisy Lounge, the intimate 38-seat speakeasy cocktail bar tucked between Keepers and Oasthouse Kitchen + Bar, opened in May 2024 and will remain open and operational during and after the transition into Mi Vecino, according to Community Impact. The Hajimaleki brothers opened Oasthouse, their German-influenced gastropub, at the same Slaughter Lane address in December 2021, turning the property into a multi-concept dining hub, as CultureMap Austin noted when the gastropub first opened.
A Growing — and Financially Complicated — Restaurant Group
Roya Hospitality Group's name comes from its flagship Persian restaurant, Roya, which graduated this year from a pop-up dinner series running since 2018 to a permanent brick-and-mortar location at 7858 Shoal Creek Blvd in North Austin, opening in February. Roya has been open for eight months and has already drawn positive reviews and substantial attention, per CultureMap Austin's reporting. Roya and Daisy Lounge represent the group's more formal Persian concepts, while Keepers (soon to be Mi Vecino), Oasthouse Kitchen + Bar, and District Kitchen + Cocktails round out the portfolio.
Executive chef Amir Hajimaleki was born in Tehran, moved to Austin as a child, and attended Anderson and Westwood High Schools, according to the Austin Chronicle.
Behind the scenes, the corporate structure tied to the group has hit turbulence. Silk Road Hospitality Group LLC, an entity co-owned by Ali and Amir Hajimaleki, filed for bankruptcy, according to the Austin Business Journal. The filing follows a lawsuit by dining credit platform inKind Cards Inc. against Silk Road Hospitality Group, the Business Journal reported.
